Not the classiest way of putting it, but it’s a simple fact of life that people love a bargain. The killer spring in your step that can only be achieved from walking away with a bagful of goodies you KNOW you couldn’t have afforded at pre-sale prices. Cheers to that.

My favourite brand for killer sales is Paul & Joe. Specifically in the Fenwicks store on Bond Street – which in itself, is one of my favourite places to shop in London. Come sale time, I will physically not leave the city until I’ve walked around it seven times and once more for luck. I’m still haunted by the fact that some HORRIBLE woman beat me to the last sale bottle of Calamity Jane (JHAG) when I was last in-store. It all happened in slow-mo — in fact, I think I may have let out a slow-mo “Noooooooooooooo!” as I watched her walk away with my dream. Bitch.

Anyway… where was I?

Oh yeah, sale goodies. Some brands are tight as… while others announce their sales with great flourish. My favourites are the ones that just silently slip last seasons goodies into a little box on the counter and let you get on with it. Guerlain are awesome at this. Lancome, getting better. The rest? Well, you can pretty much forget it.

Is it just the case that the brands who don’t put aside last season’s items simply don’t have any stock left? Or do you think it’s a status ‘thing’. Do you think it cheapens a brand’s image as ‘high end’ if it discounts their products?

I think it is undoubtedly a question of status but in these cash-strapped times, a real shame that some brands don’t have the foresight to be clever enough to attract new customers in this manner. There’s no need for all ‘bargain bins’ to look like the ones in Superdrug — you know, you need a hazmat suit to go near those right? — I strongly believe that all brands can do discounts without cheapening the brand image.

And would it pay dividends for the brands in question? I think so. From a personal point of view… I started small. I lived in my local chemist, hoovering up the bargain pencils from Collection 2000, a few months later… as my interest in beauty grew, I moved onto the Revlon. It’s like drugs. You know you’re gonna eventually end up on the hard stuff (Chanel) with a bit of puff (BarryM) inbetween to keep you high*. You just need your dealer to give you that first taste.

And just because drugs and porn** go so delightfully well together (so I’ve heard), I’ll leave you with a little makeup version. Three exquisite Paul & Joe beauty items, under £25…

Which brands get you running for their sale items and which brands would you give your eyeliner-applying arm to see throw some old stock in a discreet discount box?

* in my experience, brands absolutely love being compared to class A drugs.

We’ve got a bit of a mish-mash here so bear with me. You’re looking at a selection of Paul & Joe goodies from both their Fall 2011 Manhattan collection AND a few bits from the upcoming Holiday/Christmas 2011 collection. ‘Citing!

These five sparkly polishes are Holiday/Christmas releases (I couldn’t see the Fall polishes on the stand). We’re looking at glitter people. Jewel toned glitters and I have NO idea what that green is all about. It’s reminded me to take nail wheels with me for swatching next time. Stupid blogger.

On the left, we have the new finishing powder which will be available in SIX shades from the 5th August. In the middle… yeah, let’s take a moment over that green again. And over on the right are the eyeshadows and lipsticks from the Fall Manhattan Collection.

Moving on…

I got a bit hung up on the polishes… “Holidays are coming, holidays are coming….”

See on the shelf behind? The palette and cardboard boxes with ribbons? That’s Holiday… and it’s a bit special because the palette is customisable and the little boxes are for hanging on the Xmas tree!! They contain single eyeshadows that can be bought for the refillable palette!

OK, just one last look at those polishes….

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What do you think? Sophisticated Fall and a Sparkly Xmas? Sounds good to me.

When I heard about Paul & Joe’s new Creamy Matte Foundation, my first thought was to get all indignant about a brand releasing a winter formula that ticks all the right boxes, only to ruin it by making it matte and unsuitable for dry skins that need the cream formula most of all!

Like most, my skin is at it’s most parched in the Winter and although it’s only October, I’ve already written “Dr. Hauschka Rose Day cream” in my iPhone’s shopping list to remember to repurchase this winter skin saviour when I’m next in London.

Beautifully presented as always, the Paul & Joe Creamy Matte Foundation boasts SPF20 PA++ and a range of 8 shades to suit a variety of skintones. £28 will provide you with a standard 30ml of product that claims…

…this light and air whipped‐formula leaves skin looking completely flawless with a dreamy matte finish for absolute perfection. With a unique balance of semi‐matte and shimmer this unique moisturizing foundation available in an array of eight shades, promises a divine lustrous glow, sure to steam up your winter!

High up in the list of active ingredients are a bunch of silicones which give the foundation a velvety feel on the skin whilst preventing oil from breaking through the surface of the product for as long as possible. There’s also a few fruit oils thrown in for good measure and the product does have a pleasing slightly fruity scent… but that may be more to do with the parfum than the natural ingredients. Either way, I’ve experienced no sensitivity problems with this product I’m pleased to report.

Have I told you how much I adore P&J’s presentation? Oh I have? Oh… ok then…

But seriously, who doesn’t love a product that blatantly looks this adorable? The heavyweight frosted glass jar comes with a little spatula to help you remove product hygienically. However, I can’t say it’s the most travel-friendly object!

I opted for shade #20 (Fresh) which promised to be: A light pink that gives a radiant complexion. To my eye, it’s not that light. It is the palest cool-toned shade in the range and I have to blend this carefully down my jawline. I would suggest that any pale types opt for either 00 Alabaster or 10 Ivory, or even better… use it as an excuse to have a mooch around Fenwicks on a lunchtime and get matched!

Thankfully, it is a dream to blend… I mostly just warm it on the back of my hand with my fingers and apply with the tools I was born with (fingers, not toes). The amount of coverage simply amazed me.

Here’s a before/after:

Look at that! Skin PERFECTION! (well, very nearly!)

Paul & Joe’s Creamy Matte Foundation is a beautiful new contender for the winter foundation market. It looks great, stays on my normal/dry skin for most of the day with just a minor powder touch up needed on my nose at lunchtime and it gives a full-on flawless finish.

As for it’s “moisturising properties”? I’m yet to discover any. I don’t find it as drying as most matte or long-lasting foundations and it doesn’t seem to cling to any dry patches at all… but I wouldn’t describe it as moisturising.

The other thing about it? It’s not mask-like. I love my Illamasqua Rich Liquid foundation for the evening… but would never venture out in the day wearing it. It’s just too opaque. This somehow lets my natural skin and tone remain clear whilst hiding a multitude of other sins!

Overall, I would particularly recommend Paul & Joe’s Creamy Matte Foundation for those of you with normal/combination oily skin. If you suffer from an oily t-zone but dry cheeks, be sure to moisturise any dry areas before applying and you should get great skin all day long with this foundation.

Paul & Joe have really been impressing me recently, I can’t wait to see what they have for Spring!

Paul & Joe’s Creamy Matte Foundation is priced at £28 for 30ml and available instore at Fenwicks & Harrods or alternatively online at BeautyBay.

If cat-shaped lipsticks aren’t really your thing, Paul & Joe have also released three new (and rather lovely) limited edition face colour shades for Autumn/Winter and as always… P&J know exactly how to do the pretty.

They Say:

Blended with several varieties of champagne gold frost, each face colour has an individual overtone and translucent sparkle creating a truly sublime radiant glow.

How perfect does the champagne frost sound for the upcoming party season?

Paul & Joe Face Colours are priced at £15 each and available instore from Fenwicks and Harrods. Alternatively you can buy online from Zuneta and HQHair.

Paul & Joe will be releasing a veritable treasure trove of nail polishes this Christmas! Wonderful news for all us nail fanatics, we’re really being spoiled for choice at the moment!

I spy sparkles!

I’m particularly loving the red and black shades… knowing P&J, the pink and white will be sheers (and therefore not for me!). The gold is a sparkly addition and surely a staple for every Christmas collection, but most importantly they’ve out-cuted the competition once again with those pretty little bottles.

For a sneak peek at the rest of the collection, head over to BritishBeautyBlogger who has the low-down.

I will continue to coo over how pretty these bottles are… Paul & Joe just ‘get it’ don’t they?

I picked up this P&J polish a few weeks ago from the clearance section somewhere in central London, I’ve forgotten which store. This is by no means indicative of how much I spent or how many stores I visited. No it isn’t.

Lampshade is an opalescent warm nude that gave me a few problems. It needed 4 coats for full opacity. This, I can handle so long as it’s a fast drier. Lapshade is not a fast drier.

Can you see how it’s kinda lumpy on a my ring finger? That happened 5 hours after I’d finished painting (and seche viteing!). I slid my hand under my thigh whilst watching TV and the nail got pressed into the sofa and emerged 20 seconds later looking like someone had taken a blow torch to it. I wasn’t amused. Especially not after 4 coats.

Paul & Joe‘s Soleil is a juicy tangerine shade from Spring 2009 (though still available online). It’s a shimmery jelly shade with a few golden sparkles thrown in for good measure. Oh… and let’s not forget the typically beautiful Paul & Joe packaging *swoon*

I was on the hunt for a juicy but non-neon orange and this fits the bill perfectly. The above shows 4 coats with a topper of Seche Vite. I think it could probably do with a few more bits of sparkle, as you can see it’s only really my middle finger that managed to attract any gold specks.

Is orange a shade that you’re into at the moment? It’s not a favourite on my skin tone, but nothing screams Summer quite like it!